P The
ERQUIMANS
A kWE E K LY
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going out, IB - 8B
and 7A- SA
"News from Next Door”
DECEMBER 24, 2014 - DECEMBER 30, 2014
50 cents
County industrial park gets a boost
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A computer-generated image shows what the boat basin at the Perquimans Marine Industrial Park might look like.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News’Editor
Perquimans County is
eligible for a $1.5 million
grant from the state if it can
come up with the rest of the
money for the first phase of
the Perquimans Marine In
dustrial Park.
Commerce Secretary
Sharon Decker made the
announcement Thursday in
Raleigh.
The total cost of devel
oping the 72-acre project
is $20 million, but the first
phase is expected to cost
about $6 million. Thursday’s
announcement comes with
a 180-day deadline, which
means the remaining $4.5
million will have to be raised
in the next six months.
Dave Goss, Perquimans
County’s economic devel
opment consultant, believes
getting the commitment
of a major company to lo
cate at the industrial park
is “achievable” now. With
that commitment from an
industry, Goss believes
finding the $4.5 million will
See PARK, 2A
Quakers
to help
with area
recovery
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This
is the second part of a two
story series)..
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A team of Quakers from
across North Carolina and
Virginia will join the legions
of church groups that have
reached out to families suf
fering from the tornado that
hit Perquimans County in
April.
Early next month a Quak
er group will be staying at
Up River Friends Meeting in
Belvidere while working to
build a new home for Leoni
das Parker.
Parker, his 43-year-old
daughter, and two grand
children were staying in the
home when the tornado hit.
Efforts to rebuild the
home were complicated by
preexisting rot and termite
damage. The decision was
made to demolish the home
and build a new one.
The Quaker group will
be leaving Jan. 4 from the
Yearly Meeting office in
Greensboro. They’ll return
See RECOVERY, 2A
PHOTOS BY CHUCK PAGELS
All Saints Episcopal Church
Rector John Bonner (above, left)
listens as John Ernst explains
the history of the stain glass
windows in the church Friday
during a 18th Century colonial
home tour and progressive
dinner. The event was sponsored
by the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce.
Leslie Erickson (left) performs
on the violin and Steve Raisor
played the acoustic guitar
Friday during a performance
at Hertford United Methodist
Church. The duo provided the
closing program for the second
annual Eighteenth Century
Christmas Home Tour and
Progressive Dinner.
Work
starts
on solar
projects
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
After years of talking
about renewable energy,
two solar power projects
are under construction in
Perquimans County.
FLS Energy has started
building one project in the
900 block of Belvidere Road
and another one on Two
Mile Desert Road outside of
Winfall. Construction should
be complete by March.
Renewable energy pro
posals date back to 2010
when there was discussion
about building a 20,000-acre
wind farm in the “desert” of
Perquimans and Pasquotank
counties. Last week the Per
quimans County Commis
sion approved a .two-year
extension to the Desert
Wind project and agreed to
give the company flexibility
to make it smaller than the
original plan.
The first proposed solar
project, a 100-acre site near
the Chowan County line,
was presented in mid 2011.
The FLS projects now
See SOLAR, 3A
Perquimans farmers learn to LEAD in program
SUBMITTED
PHOTO
Robert Eure
Jr. (left)
and Rena
Eure were
honored by
N.C. Farm
Bureau
President
Larry
Wooten in
Greensboro
this month.
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A husband and wife team
from New Hope just completed
a two-year program designed to
better equip them to be a voice
for farmers.
Rena Eure and her husband
Robert Eure Jr. were honored
in Greensboro this month dur
ing graduation for Leadership,
Education, Activity and Devel
opment (LEAD) participants.
The LEAD program is de
signed to develop and enhance
the leadership skills of N.C.
Farm Bureau members be ¬
tween the ages of 36 and 52.
Rena Eure said there is another
program for farmers between
18 and 35.
The program allowed the
16 participants to meet with
elected leaders in Raleigh and
Washington D.C. and visit the
World Ag Expo in California.
The group met four times a year
for the past two years.
“I hope it’s a bright future for
farming, and we have to learn
to adapt to what people want,”
Rena Eure said earlier this
month. “A lot of people don’t
know where food comes from.
Being with Farm Bureau means
you have a voice and this LEAD
program helps us learn how to
speak out about farming. Peo
ple want to hear your story.”
The Eure’s story goes back
through generations of farm
ers.
“It’s* a different kind of life
style,” Eure said. “You don’t
have week-to-week paychecks.
But if I had to do it over again,
I’d do it over again. I’m married
to a farmer and my grandfather
was a farmer.”
But loving to farm and being
successful don’t always go hand
See LEAD, 3A
DOT bridge video now online
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A computer-generated
video showing what the pro
posed replacement for Hert
ford’s S-Bridge will look like
is now available on-line.
About 100 area residents
in a standing-room only
crowd got a chance to view
the latest video in Novem-
6 89076 47144 2
ber during a special meet
ing held at the Perquimans
County Recreation Cen
ter. Now anybody with a
computer and an Internet
connection can view it by
going to the project’s web
site http://www.ncdot.
gov/projects/USlTBusi-
nessNC37Improve/
The video shows what
it would look like to cross
over the bridge into Hert
ford from a driver’s point of
view in a car. It also shows
aerial views soaring over
the bridge and around por
tions of Hertford’s historic
district.
There are no plans to
put video of another op
tion, Alternative B, online,
according to DOT engineer
Jay McInnis, who is work
ing on the project. The Al
ternative B video was cre
ated only after residents
said they wanted to see
that as well after DOT un
veiled the D-Mod version.
A year ago after years
of study and more than
six public meetings, DOT
concluded that an option
known as D-Mod would
be the best choice to
See BRIDGE, 2A
Kindergarten class Sings
STAFF PHOTO
BY PETER WILLIAMS
Students from
Helen Lane and
Lynn Woodell’s
kindergarten
classes sang
Christmas songs
last week on
the Perquimans
County Courthouse
green. Pictured
are (bottom
row, left) Carlie
Phelps, Colton
Allmendinger, Julian
Dance, Ja’Shasti
Nelson (top row)
Dallas Williams,
Tyler Byrum and
Kelsey White.